Austen Outfitters
by Aaileen
Summary: This story is a two or three shot and it was written just for fun.  Jack is an intern and Kate is visiting her dad.  They meet in the great outdoors. To learn more about Austen Outfitters, check out Chapter 2 of my other story, The Talisman.  Enjoy!
1. Chapter 1

"Dammit Harry, I can think of a lot better ways of being greeted in the morning than by that apron that you insist on wearing. Not only is it the size of a mizzen sail, it is genuinely blinding. That color yellow should be illegal, except for where it is safe, about a million miles up, with stuff revolving around it." Sam Austen made his usual morning grumble of a greeting to his friend while absently receiving a thick ceramic mug of steaming coffee and sinking into his comfortable kitchen chair. He leaned forward and poked at the early morning fire, "So what's today?"

"Well, we've got a group commin' in. Got a little problem though, John called off, he's got a thing. Doesn't say what it is, but it is a noun so that's a start I guess. We'll be short one guide. I've got all the equipment lined up at the river and the supplies are fine." Harry handed Sam the New York Times, the crossword page folded open with a pen lying across it. He turned toward the stove.

Sam looked up at Harry and sniffed deeply, "Corn fritters, what is this for? You only make those when…"

"She's here, Sam. I saw her in her room as I was coming down earlier." Should be up soon, she never sleeps in."

"So, when were you going to tell me?" Sam Austen pushed his chair back and stood up suddenly. "She never lets me know; she stays away forever and then comes suddenly. We've got work lined up for weeks. I'm not going to get to spend time with her." Sam paused in his diatribe and placed his hands on his hips, scowling down at the table. "I hope she's okay this time, that bastard Wayne better not have touched her. If she has so much as a scratch, I will kill him."

Harry put his large hand on his friends shoulder. "It's okay, Sam, she seems fine. You know that neither of us has that girl figured out. Who knows why she does what she does, let's just be glad that she comes when she does, and enjoy it. And do you think she needs to be babysat here? I'm sure she'll be a lot happier with you busy and not breathing down her neck like a mother hen. Maybe that's why she doesn't tell you when she's coming."

Sam shook off Harry's reassurances and raced toward the stairs, keeping his tread as light as his agitated condition would allow. He stopped at her door and opened it as gently as possible.

There she was, his beautiful girl. Her dark mass of curls cascaded on the pillow and she had herself all twisted in her covers, like her sleep was never easy. Her fingers were grasping an ancient teddy bear that he had given her for her fourth birthday belying her twenty one years. Sam felt a deep tenderness rise in his chest, such an arrow of a person, this Katie. She, who was always so fierce, always at attention, was now so still, so languid in her sleep. Sam knew that she wouldn't like him to see her like this, so he turned away from the door, regretting his busy day.

"Dad?" Kate opened her eyes and sat up suddenly, instantly alert, taking in the glorious aroma of fresh corn fritters, Harry style. "How do some people luck out. Dad, can you leave and just let me marry Harry all ready? I've been waiting for years and nope, there you still are, hanging around and there's me left out in the cold, corn fritter-less..."

Sam chuckled and let the sound of her voice wash over him. He shook his head, "I know how lucky I am, but don't you let him know it. We will just have to share him because I am not going anywhere, any time soon. Come on down, they're hot and they're ready."

"Yeah, Dad, just give me a minute". Kate watched her father's retreating back, he didn't seem to age. His back was as straight as she remembered it being ten years ago. But something else had changed in the intervening years, he didn't look at her in the same way. Their relationship was no longer the uncomplicated one of worshipful daughter and doting dad. No, Sam Austen couldn't understand her anymore. He couldn't fathom why she stayed in Iowa with her mother and with Wayne. He didn't know that if she didn't stay, her mother would be dead, no question about it. The only reason that she was able to come now was that Wayne had collapsed in a bar the day before and was in detox for two weeks. Two weeks when she knew that her mom was safe.

And now, for two weeks, she was free. Kate stretched, and took in her simple surroundings. Even if she came rarely, Sam always kept her room ready for her. This room, with its large windows looking out into the woods and mountains with its wispy white curtains, curtains Harry had chosen, assuring Sam that they were the right kind for a girl. Sam had grumbled, Kate wasn't just a girl, she didn't need gauzy curtains. Harry had insisted and secretly Kate was glad, a little part of her did need them. She looked at her old book shelf with all of her childhood favorites, old fashioned books like Treasure Island, Robinson Crusoe, Lord Peter, Sherlock Holmes and all of Oz. Kate reached forward and fingered their aged spines, she remembered the long summer days she had spent reading those books. She had been transported to different worlds and all the while she had been so safe, so secure in the confines of Sam and Harry's warm home. Whatever happened to her now, she would always have those memories. Those days were long over but perhaps not completely gone, she could visit and she vowed to make the most of this one, perhaps she would raid her Dad's bookshelves and relive some of those old afternoons.

Kate arrived at the kitchen table in the midst of one of Sam and Harry's affectionate wrangles.

"Did you call someone else, Harry? Someone who doesn't have prior arrangements with a "thing"? We've got three rafts, six customers and two guides, it's not gonna work."

"I did Sam, if you want, we can make other arrangements for today, tell 'em the mountain is perfect for a hike today and the rapids need to wait. Jon is coming tomorrow."

"Nope, have you looked out the window, Harry? The fog is rolling in, the mountain isn't safe and even if it were safe they would be climbing and they would see as much scenery as they would in their closet at home, at midnight."

Kate sidled up to the kitchen counter and filled her plate with steaming fritters. "God, Harry, I have missed these. Is this real maple syrup?" Her eyes rolled back and she pretended to swoon.

Harry, turning red, pulled Kate into his chest and rubbed the top of her head with his fist. "Katie, it's good to see you girl. I've missed you."

Kate stood on her tip toes and planted a sound kiss on Harry's cheek, I've missed you too Harry, but I am deeply ashamed to confess that I might have missed these more." Kate took her plate to the table and hitched in her chair. "So what's up with the rafts?"

"Short a guide. Got some folks from southern California coming in and they booked months ago. We're fine, we'll scramble and make it work like always. Harry, can we call…?"

"Dad, you don't need to call anyone, let me be part of the scramble. I can still navigate a raft, what can happen? I haven't been on the river for a while, sounds fun."

"Katie" Harry looked at her, "you know it's not gonna be fun, who knows what these people will do. They probably think they're experts and they're likely to kill themselves. You've got to be a combination psychiatrist, den-mother and first grade teacher."

"Well, I'm not any of the above, but I do not have prior arrangements with a "thing", at least not that I know of." Kate gave Harry and Sam her most winning smile and they both nodded their heads.

Half an hour later, Kate and Sam were piling out of Sam's jeep ready for a day on the river. Sam walked over to the river's edge where the equipment and a guide were waiting. Sam turned to Kate, "Kate, this is Justin, our other guide."

Kate put out her hand, "Hi, Justin, I have some experience rafting but very little guiding, so I'll stay behind you and follow your lead."

Justin looked at Kate and felt that this was not going to be such a long day after all. He made an effort to appear unimpressed and took her hand, surprised at the firmness of her shake. "Looks like we have a group of doctors, well, maybe half doctors (they're interns) from LA. They'll think they don't need guides so don't push 'em, just make sure they're alive at the end so that their checks clear.

Sam laughed, "Here they come." A touring van approached the river and grounded to a halt. The incline required for the vehicle to make the approach clearly taxed its size and the limited capacity of its engine. Six young men spilled out. Kate, Sam and Justin looked them over with a gimlet eye while the interns were still too busy getting their bearings to notice. Sam was used to assessing customers. He decided that Kate would not take the bearded fellow who had been driving, he had been far too hard on that engine for his liking. Justin looked over the customers with another end in mind. The tall one with the dark hair was definitely not getting into Kate's raft, not if he could help it. Kate was just amused, she was looking forward to a day on the river, she felt a little like she did in junior high, babysitting for the first time. Her dad had told her, "Don't lose". Her mom had told her, "Just keep them alive till their mom gets home". She figured that it was still good advice and she turned her attention to the gear.

The customers were in high spirits, taking in the beauty of their surroundings but by no means humbled by it.

"Jack, look, there's three rafts, six of us, three guides, one old guy, one younger guy and a hot babe. I don't know about you but I know what boat I want to be in."

"Listen, Mark, this is not a group dynamics scenario, I have eyes, I can see. I don't need the running commentary. We'll get on the boat that the guides give us." Jack rolled his eyes, he could indeed see. He looked at the guides and it was hard for him to concentrate on anything but the beautiful woman with the wild brown curls standing by their rafts. He purposely averted his glance.

Sam took charge, he looked at the two young men who seemed the most sensible, "You two." He pointed at Jack and Mark, "You're going with her." Mark pretended to buckle his knees, he looked at Jack and gave him a joyful thumbs up. Jack rolled his eyes once more and hoped that Kate did not see the ridiculous antics of his friend. He did not have the strength however, not to look behind him and give his four disappointed friends a broad smile and a cheerful wave.

Mark greeted Kate with an effusive grin, as he plunked himself into their raft. "I'm Mark and I'll begin in the front, that way before the river gets away from us, I'll know what I am doing and I'll be able to save this guys skin." Mark gestured at Jack, "That's Jack by the way, and your name?" Kate greeted Mark with a laugh, "I'm Kate, it's nice to meet you Mark" she looked to the side at Jack, "You too, Jack." She gave Jack a friendly grin and a nod. "You can start in the front if you want, Mark, but we won't be getting out for a while, so you better be sure that's what you want. Jack, why don't you take the center, I'll take the rear." Kate grabbed the paddles and the packs and tucked the gear together in a dry tarp and secured it expertly. They waited for the rafts to que up and then pushed off.

They had been on the river for fifteen minutes and even Mark was silenced by the majesty of the mountains and the clear, rushing river. Kate was lost in her surroundings, they would not hit any rapids for a little while and she took the opportunity for some peaceful reverie while she could.

She did not notice that Mark was getting increasingly uncomfortable. "Whoa, I don't know man, but I did not know that it was possible to get motion sickness in a little rubber tub."

"I don't think it is Mark." Jack looked at his friend with concern, he did look a little green. Mark waved him off, "It'll probably pass."

Kate looked at Mark in alarm, he did look pretty bad, she had never heard of raft motion sickness, maybe he was just sick. He had better get off the raft soon if he was though. They were headed for some serious rapids soon.

Mark leaned over the side of the little vessel, "You'd better take me back, I'll phone the tour company to send someone up for me. I guess I'll just sit take this day out and try to sleep it off."

"We'll have to let the other groups know and then we'll pull the raft to the bank and hike back to base." Kate looked at Mark, she was glad that he was using sense and was calling his day to an early end rather than put the rest of the rafters at risk.

Kate radioed her dad, "Sam, one of the guys suddenly got ill and we're gonna walk him back to base, you and Justin go on ahead and if the other guy, Jack still wants to go out, we'll meet you at the first turn." Kate listened for a moment. "Yeah, everything is fine; they're doing the right thing. Pretty sensible".

Jack put his arm over Mark's shoulder, "Do you think you can make it buddy? It's gonna be an uphill walk you know."

Mark gave a faint hearted laugh, "Yeah, I'm not dead, just a little green around the gills, I'll make it."

Kate followed the two of them, the taller, darker one, Jack was watching his friend carefully making sure that his walk was steady enough to take the hike's incline. Kate was impressed, these two really seemed to care about each other.

Back at the base, Kate dragged out some fresh water bottles from the equipment shed and Mark called the touring company based at the hotel in town.

"Jack, I know you're going to protest but hear me out. You're the one that really needs this break, you're the one that wanted to go rafting, don't wait on me. Go on out and enjoy yourself." Mark looked at Jack, he knew that he would feel obligated to go back to the hotel with him and he wanted to quash that right away.

"I don't know Mark, I hate to leave you all alone."

Mark barked out a weak laugh, "Yeah I will be so bored- sleeping. All I want to do is sleep Jack and that I am perfectly capable of doing on my own, unless of course she would want to join me. But you know we don't know each other that well." Mark looked over toward Kate who was at the shed checking out the first aid gear.

"God, Mark, don't you ever stop? Even when you're on death's door you're still at it." Jack glared at his friend and Mark felt a little sheepish for his remarks.

"Okay, you're right. Nothing stops me but the sleep of the dead which I am looking forward to. Please stay here, please have your day."

"I don't know, Mark"

Kate came over and patted Mark's shoulder, "Hey, I've got a little flu medication for you. Harry, our supply man, always makes sure that this stuff is updated. It should help you not to lose your breakfast going down the mountain to town." Kate handed Mark some liquid medicine and squatted facing the two men. "So what will it be? I don't mean to press you guys but the others are going to wait at the first bend and I need to let them know if we're going to pack it up or join them. She glances up at Jack, really seeing him for the first time. She looked into his warm brown eyes and she felt a very unfamiliar, almost giddy sensation tickling at her stomach. She lowered her head and coughed and scratched the toe of her boot into the dirt of the river bank and gestured vaguely behind herself, "Maybe you need a minute to decide, I'll just wait over there."

She got up and walked over to nearest tree and leaned her weight on it. Her thoughts tumbled, god, Kate, it isn't like you've never seen a good looking guy before, get a grip.

Jack looked at her retreating figure and smiled, "Well, Mark, I think that I am going to go ahead and stay on the river today, if you're sure that you're going to be all right." Mark nodded his head. Jack leaned back on his hands and turned his face to the sky, "I guess I'll see where this day takes me.


	2. Chapter 2

_**Well, here it is friends, chapter two of Jack and Kate's river adventure. It's kind of action packed but bear with it if you can, there is lots of Jack and Kate interaction to come later in the story, I promise. I hope you can have some fun with this.**_

Jack was enjoying the smooth feel of the raft gliding on the surface of the water, he was getting used to the heft of the paddle in his hands. He loved discovering that the paddle's slightest change of direction or depth in the water could change the course of the raft in the water.

Kate sat in the back of the vessel, she was enjoying the view. She hadn't allowed herself the easy pleasure of another person's company for a long time. This was going to be a nice day. Jack didn't find it necessary to prattle, he just took to the raft and began to get used to navigating it in the river. He didn't hesitate at all or look to her for too much guidance. He took the opportunity while the river was gentle to hone his skills. She could tell that he was a natural athlete, someone who was comfortable in his own skin. Kate decided that she had better stop looking straight ahead of herself at Jack's broad back and think about something else.

She scanned their little craft with her eyes, everything was there, the netting, grapples, packs all tight and secure. Her eyes traced the mountainous horizon; they had about five more minutes before they would reach the bend and meet the others in the group. Sam probably had them all lined up for a little tutorial on white water, she hoped that he did, this river was pretty unpredictable at times. Kate could hardly wait.

Jack saw the others ahead of them and took his paddle out of the water. He turned slightly and watched Kate take on the delicate job of steering the raft closer to the group. She was such a small person, but so confident in her movements and so remarkably contained for someone so young. There was a lot of "person" inside of her and Jack was intrigued. She hadn't said much so far, just a few gentle instructions, given almost monosyllabically. The exact right ones, oddly enough, as if she anticipated his mistakes for him and guided him around them.

They arrived at the bend in the river and joined the assembled rafters.

"Good, you're here, Kate, you and err." Sam looked at his clip board, "Jack, you come up between me and Justin here. We will give each other at least three minutes lead time. I want us to remain in sight of each other. Especially you Kate. Justin," Sam looked back at the disgruntled guide, his clients were paying no attention to Sam. They were splashing each other and tipping the raft dangerously. "you know the drill. Pull up behind at the first bend and make sure that you wait the allotted time. HEY!" Sam's voice took on the tone that his army years had perfected. The interns in Justin's craft looked up and the silly grins on their faces vanished. "Pay attention to the river, it's a real bitch sometimes. I frankly don't care so much whether you get hurt, your tour company has excellent insurance but I like my rafts, and if you damage one of them, I'm not going to happy."

The three guides lined up their vessels just before the first bend of the river. Sam looked back at the customers, he did not like the look of the men in Justin's raft. He was very glad that they were not with Kate, he knew she could take care of herself but he didn't want her to have to take on those clowns as well. He looked at Jack, he seemed all right, pretty quiet and somewhat serious, Kate should be all right with him.

"Hey Jack, you having fun?" The guys in the raft behind were pushing their paddles in Jack's direction, poking at their raft, trying to jostle them in the water.

"Hey, hold on there, Bob." Jack turned and gave Bob a half grin, "We're gonna get plenty wet in a few minutes. Let's enjoy being dry while we can."

Bob pushed harder at his paddle nearly upsetting himself off of his seat; his paddle caught itself near Kate's side and brushed against her. Kate grasped the paddle and held it tightly with her fist, preventing it from ripping the netting protecting their gear. She turned to Bob and manipulated his paddle with a quick spin. It came out of his not so firm grasp and Kate let it rest upon his startled lap with a tiny thump. It all happened in less than a second and was done so quietly that it called no attention to itself. Kate gave Bob an easy smile and she said quietly, "Whoa there, you might want to watch that paddle buddy." The grin wiped itself off of Bob's face and he took his paddle back. He straightened his shoulders and looked around at his friends, wondering if they had seen what had just happened. He comforted himself with the thought that it was too fast and too silent, they couldn't have, could they?

Jack had seen it, every gesture and he was enjoying it. He looked down into his chest and let himself grin at the shocked look on Bob's face. Kate could certainly take care of herself. That was handled beautifully.

Sam's raft took off, Kate looked at her watch and began the three minute count. She looked back at Justin and nodded at him. She hoped that he could handle the guys in his raft. He looked pretty grim, she did not envy him. The day was going to be long for Justin and keeping the jokers in his raft in one piece was going to be more of a challenge than Kate would want to take on. Kate made the final ten second count down in her mind and said quietly to Jack. "All right, let's go!" Jack turned and nodded in her direction and gave her a beatific smile. He was excited.

The ride began innocently enough but as the minutes went by, the water began to rush by at increasing speed. The decline after the bend was steep and it took a considerable amount of Kate's skill and Jack's novice efforts to keep their raft upright. In the back of the raft, Kate was high in the air and the rush of excitement she felt at the lift coursed through her body. Her adrenaline was starting to take over and she looked with careful attention toward Jack and made sure that he was all right.

Jack was more than all right, he was thrilled. He felt his heart race at the surge of the river as it took their raft and pummeled it down its banks and into its raging current Jack turned around and caught Kate's glance, he let out a spontaneous shout of laughter that rang in the air. His joy could not contain itself, he felt like a little kid again and he had to share it.

Justin kept his eyes on his watch as he counted down the minutes between Kate's launch and his. This trip was getting more onerous as the hours passed. This Bob guy was turning out to be very difficult to guide. He suddenly felt the jolt of the raft as it began to move its way through the water. The allotted time hadn't passed, only about one minute had gone by.

Justin was beginning to be alarmed. "What are you doing?" He called out to Bob, seated in front of him who was pushing his paddle into the water and beginning the craft's descent in the river.

"This is ridiculous, we have been waiting all morning to begin. I'm sick of this, let's go." Bob gave Justin a disgusted look as he pushed them off.

"You can't do this, there is a reason that we delay between launches. The river is dangerous and we need to approach it with…" Justin made a grab for Bob's paddle.

Bob reared back. "Oh shut up. It's fine, it's been nothing so far and I'm damned sick of sitting around. We paid for some fun today and I for one am gonna get it." Bob scowled at Justin and continued to push his paddle through the water.

The river took hold of their vessel and began to push it down stream. Justin realized that it was too late to stop, they would just have to deal with the consequences as best they could. He sincerely hoped that no one got hurt because of this jerk's idiotic decision. He looked ahead at Jack and Kate's raft; they were navigating the first rapids and doing a damn good job of it. Kate's end of the boat was nearly five feet in the air but Jack had his end firmly in hand and they were leaning their bodies against the angle of the boat perfectly.

Justin and Bob's raft suddenly surged through the water. Justin realized with horror that it was gaining speed too rapidly to prevent a collision.

"Lean back, get your paddles up and straighten them! We're going to try…"Justin leaned his body against the angle of his raft and shouted, he knew though that it was too late, they were going to hit.

Jack's laughter suddenly stopped, he saw what was coming before Kate was aware of what was right behind her. She was confused at the sudden change on Jack's face, his expression changed from utter elation to terror instantaneously. It was then that Kate felt the first impact. Her body responded before her mind took it in. One of her hands instantly grasped her paddle and held it upright to prevent any sudden collision with her own or anyone else's body. Her other hand grasped the netting that covered the side of the raft. She pulled on it to prevent them from capsizing. It was attached to some hooks that worked against tacoing, the folding of their raft from stem to stern, the most dangerous eventuality. She held fast to the netting and pushed all her weight into her efforts. "Jack, put your paddle upright and pull on the netting right by your left leg. Pull hard!" Kate spoke clearly and rapidly through gritted teeth. She did not know where she got the time to make this request. Time always seemed to slow to a nearly stand still for Kate in a crisis. Jack instantly pulled on his end of the netting. He saw Bob's boat bearing down on them and knew that it was too late to stop the collision or avoid it. Kate however seemed to know what to do to minimize the damage.

Bob was in a complete state of panic, his paddle was waving wildly and Justin and the other passenger were ducking their heads to avoid its impact.

"Kate, duck down!" Justin screamed out the order just as his raft pushed under the back of Jack and Kate's boat. Bob's paddle pierced the end of their raft and gashed a tear deep into its side. Kate had ducked and just missed a heavy blow to the side of her head. The little raft spun in the water on the impact and crashed into the bank at the side of the river, just missing a swirling eddy that could have torn their boat to pieces.

"Jack, take hold of my paddle. We're going to dump truck." Kate leaned off to the side of the raft and grabbed an overhanging tree branch. She felt the river tugging at their boat and she held on to the branch with all of her might. Jack was nearly off the boat, the current was pulling at the side of the rapidly deflating vessel and he was beginning to be pulled quickly into the river. He grabbed her paddle and lunged toward the bank. Kate was being pulled between the branch and Jack's body; she grunted and pulled with every effort her small body could muster. The muscles in her arms strained against the force. Jack leaned into the angle of the paddle fighting the pull of the river with all of his might. He fell forward and switched his grip from Kate's paddle onto the same overhanging branch that Kate held in her hands. His weight left the paddle and Kate was suddenly released from the pull of his body and the sinking raft.

"Quick Jack, see if you can swing to the bank." Kate's now suddenly freed hand grasped the branch and she pulled her body upwards toward the high bank of the river. She landed with a thud and faced Jack who was getting himself arranged on the same branch. He hoisted himself with one hand into the air and pulled his weight onto the bank, landing in a heap beside Kate.

Kate looked around and saw that Jack still held his paddle and it was still staunchly upright in strict obedience to her warning. She smiled at this good fortune and grabbed the paddle from his hand and looked over into the river, perhaps if she could just reach a little further down, the boat wasn't too far yet. Kate pushed the paddle out over the river as far as it would go and caught the edge of their deflating raft. She pulled as hard as she could.

"Jack can you grab the back end of this thing? If we pull very hard against the current we might just be able to salvage the raft."

"What?"Jack looked over at Kate like she was crazy. They nearly died and she was thinking right away about the raft. Jack shook his head to clear it, there they were on the side of the river, their day finished almost as soon as it had begun and she was on to the next thing.

"Jack, this current is strong and I'm not going to be able to save the gear by myself. I'm sorry that you have to do this but it would be really great if you could just pull." Kate was pulling on the paddle, she had gotten it attached to a corner of the netting and it was going to take her back into the river if she didn't get his help. She damn well wasn't going to let go by the looks of it, Jack had no choice but to grab the paddle and pull.

They worked together and strained their bodies against the mighty current of the river. The raft was slowly rising onto the bank. Kate inched herself down the bank and hung her body over its edge, she reached her arms forward and grabbed the raft. She motioned to Jack who followed her movements. They pulled at the raft together finally catching it up and onto some brambles.

Kate turned to Jack and gave him a dazzling smile, "We did it!" In spite of the circumstances her smile was infectious and Jack grinned back in spite of himself.

Jack sank to the ground, and let out a long breath, letting his body finally relax, "Yeah, well I guess we did, whatever that was."


	3. Chapter 3

_**I guess this is going to be a little more than a three chapter thing. I'm sorry, my inexperience keeps taking me down trails and I am not able to efficiently get Jack and Kate where I want them to go. You'll have to patiently slog through a little to get to this story's conclusion! I guess, like Kate, I have to work at this "guide" thing. Hope you can have some fun on the journey!**_

Kate leaned back and looked at the sky, she shook her head as if to clear it of the chaos that had just taken place. She hitched herself onto her elbows and turned to look at Jack. She narrowed her eyes and observed him closely for any signs of injury.

"Are you all right? I apologize; I should have asked you that before this. I don't really have the mindset of a regular guide; I'm kind of filling in today." Kate felt sheepish for not having asked him before this.

Jack looked himself over and stretched his arms and legs out, pretending to see if they all functioned properly. He chuckled, "I'm not the one who had a raft plow into my back. Are you all right? I'm sorry about Bob, he's a real dick, he insisted on coming. We should have turned him down." Jack looked at Kate with a trained eye. "Are you really okay? Why don't you just stand still there for just a minute and let me check you out." Jack stood back, it seemed to dawn on him belatedly what that had sounded like. He wiped his forehead with his palm and turned a bright shade of red. "God, I don't mean what you're thinking."

"It's okay. What am I thinking? " Kate met Jack's embarrassed eyes with a huge grin on her face. She hated pushing him when he was down, but she couldn't help herself.

"Well," Jack made an excellent recovery and chose to take her question as purely rhetorical. "It's kind of amazing that you didn't get killed back there. You could have flipped out of that boat and landed on your head or you could have been thrown straight into the river and carried downstream. You're pretty damn lucky I guess."

Kate looked herself over, mirroring Jack's earlier movements. She laughed and shook her head, "I'm not lucky, never have been, not even once. If I were lucky, Bob would not have run into us and we would be out on that river having the ride of our lives. I feel so bad for you that this day is going this way. Glad you're okay though." Kate sat up straight and looked over the bank at the beached raft. "I've got to get the radio out of the gear. Sam is gonna be freaking."

Kate went to the river bank and perched herself on its edge. She unhooked the gear bag from the ruined raft and hoisted it beside her.

"Great, it's not wet, had it pretty solid in there. Here it is."

Kate grabbed the radio, fiddled with the frequency and waited for the connection. She held the radio to her ear and listened to a diatribe at the other end. She shook her head a few times at Jack and waited for Sam to calm down. "Dad, I'm all right. Nothing broken except for," Kate swallowed, she did not want to tell Sam this and she braced herself for a loud response by holding the radio away from her ear. Jack looked on and smiled at her precautions. "Dad, the raft is ruined. Yeah, I think it's beyond salvaging. Yeah, I'm okay, Jack is okay too. Well I thought maybe you would ask. How do you want to handle it?" Kate nodded her head a few times and listened intently. "Okay, Dad, I'll ask him. I love you too."

"He's your Dad?" Jack looked at Kate curiously. They didn't look much alike, at least he hadn't thought so.

"Uh Huh, yeah." Kate nodded and leaned forward. "Jack, I need you to know that we're not going to be able to get back on the river today, I'm so sorry about that. There's no way we can get a new raft and catch up to the group on time. And as much as it appears to be the opposite, it just isn't safe to be out on the river completely alone. Look, we're going to have to hike back into base and its going to take a while. I can radio Harry, he's our supply man, and maybe he can bring a jeep around if you just want to hurry back to town and join your friend Mark. But, it isn't going to be easy for him because we're off road by quite a ways and there is no guarantee that it will save you any time." Kate shook her head, "Like I said before, I feel pretty bad for you, your day is pretty well shot."

Jack smiled a little and thought that he could think of a lot worse ways to spend his day than hiking in the Cascades with a beautiful woman. "Well Kate, the way I see it, you shouldn't feel bad at all. The guy that came with me pretty nearly killed you, so I should be the one apologizing for his sorry ass. Another thing, he ruined my day, you didn't." Jack leaned forward and looked around, "I don't mind the hike, this mountain is beautiful."

Kate grabbed the gear, hitched it to her shoulder and stood up in one fluid motion. She smiled and reached out toward Jack and grabbed his outstretched hand, hoisting him to a standing position. At the contact of their fingers, their eyes met, Kate broke their gaze and looked at the ground and cleared her throat, "All right, let's go."

Their return journey was an uphill climb, Kate was following a trail that was pretty indiscernible to Jack, she was weaving between rocks and trees carefully pacing herself to Jack's speed. After an hour of steady climbing, Jack finally decided to stop.

"Kate, I'm not sure how long you can go, probably all day, but I'm just a half doctor not superman, I think we should stop a minute and have a drink or something." Kate immediately stopped, chagrined that she had not thought to do so. She had a lot to learn about this guiding business.

"God, I'm sorry, Jack. I'm not doing a very good job today. Here." Kate rustled around with the pack on her shoulder and pulled out a bottle of water and handed it to Jack. "Are you hungry? Harry has some food in here; it was for lunch on the river bank."

"Maybe later" Jack took a long drink, he was amused at how flustered she was, she really was new at this "guiding" thing. "So are you a college student?" Jack was curious about her, if she wasn't a guide, just what did she do?

"No, not really." Kate looked in the distance and chose not to say any more. "I heard from my Dad that you guys are all interns from Southern California, what hospital?"

Jack noticed that she was avoiding giving him an answer to his question. Oh well, they had all day it seemed, maybe she would say more later. "UCLA Teaching Hospital, we're all a little nervous, match day is coming up and we're all hoping to get good residencies. This trip is kind of a way to let off a little steam. Do you live with your Dad?" Jack winced a little at the fact that he just let that question pop out of himself. Who did he think he was, a reporter or something?

"Nooo." Kate looked up at the question, she laughed a little. "I don't mean to be so mysterious, it's just, well, I'm not very interesting. I'm from a very boring place, Iowa actually. I'm visiting my Dad. I come whenever I can. Not as much as I want to."

"Iowa, I would not have guessed that. You seem more like you fit in right here. Hard to imagine you walking around somewhere flat." Jack nodded his head at the steep incline of the trail before them and he laughed lightly.

Kate laughed, "Yeah, well my Dad has had me out in these hills since I was a very little kid. I love it here, if I could.." Kate looked wistful, and her words trailed off. "We'd better get going if we want to make it back by dark."

Kate was a little worried about the trail, the fog that her father had mentioned earlier that morning was beginning to thicken. The farther up they were getting the worse it was getting, she knew the trail but there were precipitous cliffs not far off and she could not make a false move.

"Jack, I hate to say this but we are going to have to stop for a little while. It's getting to be pea soup around here and there's a bend coming on the trail soon that needs to be navigated carefully. Let's sit and have some of that food and see what happens, I may have to radio Harry and get an idea of what weather is ahead. We may be grounded for a bit." Kate pulled some sandwiches out of the pack, and handed one to Jack.

They settled themselves in a small clearing by the trail, Jack leaned against a tree and took the food from Kate's hand. When their fingers touched and their eyes met, this time neither one of them looked down.

"I don't go to college. Wish I did, it must be pretty great being a student." Kate looked at Jack and scratched at the dirt with a stick she had picked up..

"I don't know, med school has been pretty grueling. It's like drinking from a fire hydrant sometimes. Most of the students didn't think they would live through the boards. Why don't you go? To college, I mean?" Jack looked at Kate, she seemed very smart, he hadn't known many people who didn't have the opportunity to go.

"There isn't one near my town and I have to stay pretty close to home. It's a little complicated." Kate caught Jack's glance and seemed to nod to herself.

"I don't know if I would be able to stand that, Kate. Staying close to home, I mean. My parents and I aren't very attached. You must be very close to your mom." Jack gave Kate an encouraging smile.

"No, not really, my mom and I really don't see eye to eye on much. To be perfectly honest, I am much closer to my dad. Sam is a person that I can really understand. We have always been a lot alike. But Sam doesn't really need me, my mom does, it's pretty simple."

"Well, Kate, it's not that simple to most people. Most people could care less if their parents need them. For most people it's the other way around." Jack was interested, he hadn't ever met anyone like Kate, she didn't look at the world in the same way as anyone he had ever met before. She seemed serious beyond her years, there was heaviness there, something was weighing her down.

"What's match day?"

Kate interrupted Jack's reverie, he looked up, "What"

"Earlier, you said you were all worried about match day."

"Well, it's a kind of weird lottery system that matches med students to the hospitals where they will spend their residencies. It's very important, especially for those of us in certain specialties. I am hoping for a surgical residency and I have listed my top ten choices. The hospitals I want have to match up. On a certain day in March, the lotteries come up. I know that what I want to match will not work out already though." Jack frowned and wadded the wrapper of his sandwich and shoved it into Kate's pack angrily.

Kate could tell that Jack was upset. "Why not?"

"We were talking about parents earlier; well my Dad is a real piece of work. He has lots of plans for me and he's pretty persuasive. He's chief of surgery at a big LA hospital, and he has the match for me sewn up there. I don't have much of a choice. It could be a lot worse. I could want to be a plumber or something. At least I want to be a surgeon." Jack ducked his head and looked to the side at Kate, and gave a rueful smile.

Kate looked up, she felt like she had more in common with Jack than she had thought possible. "You're right there, Jack, it could be a lot worse. If you wanted to be a plumber, your dreams would be going right down the toilet."

"Kate, that wasn't funny, that was probably the worst joke I have ever heard." Jack laughed, " I don't think your dreams should be going in the comedic direction, that's for sure. So you have any?"

Kate pulled her knees up under her chin and peered over them into Jack's curious eyes. She hadn't had anyone ask her something like this in a very long time. She avoided these kinds of thoughts, thoughts of the future. Any kind of long term planning or goal setting seemed to be fruitless.

"I don't know, Jack. When I said things were complicated, I meant it. I haven't had any real leisure to think about what I want." Kate looked wistful and she shook her head. "I guess I'd pretty much want to do what Sam and Harry do. Be out here, know these hills, staying on the river, messing around with the boats. There's nothing half so fine as doing that. This mountain never ceases to amaze me." Kate's eyes were shining. Jack looked at her and found himself being drawn into her vision, her wonder was contagious.

"Not sure if guiding is my thing after today, but maybe I could get better at it." Kate looked around her, the fog was descending quickly, she couldn't see more than two feet in front of her. "Won't be able to guide you much of anywhere for the moment. I hope you don't mind staying where you are for the time being, we're near some sharp drops and we've got to be safe."

Jack leaned his head back against the trees trunk and sighed. "You know, this is pretty nice, I don't mind being stuck here at all. I've never had a lot of opportunity to be in the outdoors much. You must like being alone, doesn't seem like there is a lot of opportunity to meet people in a place like this, or Iowa for that matter." Jack didn't know why Kate had him so curious, he kept inadvertently prying, he couldn't seem to help himself.

"I don't mind being alone." Kate pulled her knees closer to her body, she was getting a little cold. She hugged her shins and perched her chin on her knees and looked closely at Jack. "I've always been that way. Have you ever had someone ask you to finish this sentence, Other people…?"

"Always want something from me." The phrase popped out of Jack's mouth before he had a moment to think. He looked at Kate somewhat abashed.

Kate put her head back and laughed, "That sure came from somewhere deep in your psych. That is a sad state of affairs Jack."

"I guess it is. Kate," Jack shook his head and laughed," Maybe that's why I enjoyed our few minutes on the river there, no one needed me at all. And even after you got plowed, you didn't. That's pretty great."

Jack looked over at Kate. She was so self contained, curled up, hugging her legs tightly, her curly hair was disheveled and hanging in masses of tangled curls around her face. She seemed different from anyone that he had ever met. She did seem to be a solitary, almost wild creature, like she might be content to be alone in these woods forever. Jack wanted to intrude on her solitude; he wanted to break through her barrier, to be the person that she finally let in. He wondered at his feelings, he found himself wanting to move closer to her. He inched his body away from Kate, suddenly uncomfortable with where his thoughts were going.

"Finish it." Jack looked at Kate with an expectant look on his face.

"Finish what?" Kate looked up at Jack, her smile fading somewhat.

"Other people…." Jack waved his hand in a small circle indicating the space where her words should follow in the phrase.

"Bother me." Kate looked at Jack with a grin and finished.

"Well, I guess I'll just have to be careful." Jack pulled his legs up close to his chest; he was beginning to get cold. He shivered and hugged his knees tightly.

"God, I'm sorry Jack. I really need to work harder at this guide thing. You're cold; these elevations get really nippy sometimes, especially in the spring. Let me look in the gear and see if Harry put anything in there to help you."

"It's all right, Kate. You were supposed to guide me through the water, not over the mountain. From what I saw of you on the water, you were great, a real natural."

Kate smiled up at Jack gratefully while she rustled through the capacious gear bag. "Thanks for that, it may sound trite but that means a lot to me." Her eyes lit up. "Here!" Kate pulled out a shiny little square, not more than four inches long.

Jack couldn't see how something so tiny could bring her such satisfaction. "What is it?"

"It's the difference between your being cold or comfortable, see?" She unfolded the tiny package and it rolled out to a length of six feet. It was thinner than plastic and looked like faded tinfoil, a little like Jack's grandmother's rain hat. Kate leaned over and began to tuck it over Jack's legs.

Jack liked the feeling of Kate's small hands gently pressing the fabric around his legs, he liked it way too much. He pulled away from her slightly and coughed. "What about you? You've got to be cold too."

Kate looked at Jack, she wasn't used to people thinking about her. "I'm going to start this little camp stove, Harry thinks of everything." Kate pulled out a small stove. "We can't start a campfire up here, not even in the spring. The danger of forest fires is too great. I don't know if you noticed any swathes of tree carcasses as you came up the mountain this morning but we've had some rough years lately. We have to be very cautious. But this baby will help us to stay warm." Kate had the little stove out and set up and lit while she was talking. Jack liked watching her, her movements were so neat and concise, with no extra flourishes. She would make a good surgeon. Jack laughed to himself, Kate the forest surgeon.

The stove let out a small modicum of heat. Kate continued to shiver. Jack became somewhat disgusted with the fact that he was warm and comfortable and Kate was shivering and he moved one end of the thermal blanket off of his legs. "Come here." Jack leaned over and touched Kate's shoulder. "I promise I won't bite, come over here." Jack patted the ground next to him.

Kate looked up at Jack's kind face, she hated to do it, but for some reason she really trusted this guy. She edged over next to him and let her shoulder rest under his outstretched arm. Jack pulled her body closer to his side and tucked the blanket over their drawn up legs.

Kate liked the feeling of Jack's large hands pressing the blanket around her legs. She liked it way too much. Kate leaned her face down and rested her cheek on her knees, facing Jack, looking straight into his eyes. "Thank you Jack, you don't bother me at all."

Jack looked down and stared into Kate's eyes, he looked further down toward her beautiful full mouth and he began instinctually to lean in. He blinked and shook his head, god what was he doing, what would she think? He looked up toward her eyes, they were closed and Kate was suspended in a moment of pure, blissful expectation. Jack swallowed and couldn't believe his good fortune. He released the hold of convention over his mind and body and let himself lean in. He pressed his lips against the impossible softness of Kate's waiting mouth.


End file.
